Life With Ty #21 - The Wedding

On Columbus Day weekend, Eric and I made the very brave step of taking a 2 year old and a 5 week old on a four day trip.  I think this was a rite-of-passage for us as parents.  First of all, we didn't have much of a choice.  My sister was getting married...not an event you miss, or leave the kids home for!  So, about two weeks in advance I began making my packing list.  Each of us had a column, divided into categories (clothes, toiletries, food, etc), with little boxes to check off next to each item.  When all was said and done, I had created four full pages (each page with two columns of items), of crap I somehow needed to shove into the least amount of bags possible, and then shove again into our car.  It was my all time greatest organizational challenge...good thing I thrive on organization! :)

This was about 3/4 of our stuff, minus a pack and play, bouncy seat, and dog overnight bag...not bad, right?!

Three hours before departure, I had finished packing...I wasted no time!  Not one thing was left behind, everything was neatly organized into bags based on category (and labeled of course...can't stay organized without labels!), and everything was packed for easy accessibility based on the day we would be needing each item.  I'm not going to lie...I thoroughly enjoyed this challenge!!!

Okay, so on to Ty...he is the subject of the posts this month after all!  Ty was given the honor of being ring-bearer in Mel and Pat's wedding, which shows the unconditional love they have for Ty, because anyone knows a 2 year old is not going to give a stellar performance walking down the aisle, and most certainly cannot be trusted with rings unless they are made of plastic!  We arrived in Westport, Connecticut the day after our trek south began (we made an overnight pit-stop at Lala and Poppi's house).  Of course, the day of the rehearsal, and Ty was refusing to eat anything but graham crackers, and was in a stinker of a mood. But we dressed him up in his "casual" gray pin-stripe suit, packed about 50 graham crackers, and headed out to the rehearsal.

So the bridal party lined up.  We had decided that Ty would walk down the aisle next to me (the maid of honor), so he wouldn't be scared.  Our cue to walk comes, and what does Ty do?  Sit down in the wet grass, right at the start of the aisle, with his "uhhhhhh!!!" sound of disapproval...of course.  So I picked that little butt up, carried him down the aisle legs flailing, and assured the not-impressed justice of the peace that I would be coming up with a plan B for our little ring bearer!

The next day was the big event.  Someone was looking out for Mel and Pat, because it was the ONE day in two weeks that it did not rain, and was absolutely beautiful for their outdoor wedding.  Close to show time, I brought Ty to the bridal suite to dress him in his little black tux.  He sat like a little ham in the chair while I put on all 5 pieces, smiling for the cameras and loving the attention.  I had my fingers crossed that this was a good sign for his wedding performance!!!  The best part though, was when the beautiful bride emerged from her dressing room, Ty looked at her and said "WOW!" (rightfully, so!). 

Finally it was go-time...and I made my first mistake.  I put Ty's suit jacket on...with his flower boutinnere pinned to the lapel.  Now, I should mention that Ty has an irrational fear of bugs.  He has never been bitten or stung, has never accidentally eaten one...all bug experiences to this point have been positive...but he HATES them...freaks the hell out, hates them.  So on goes the beautiful tux jacket, and what does Ty think is six inches below his face?  A massive purple and white BUG.  This led to pure hysteria as Ty frantically ripped his boutinnere off of his jacket, and jumped in my arms.  So I'm holding him, and I pick up my bouquet...more "bugs", more hysteria.  (We really need to work on distinguishing different types of flowers from bugs).  Oops...not a good way to start the walk down the aisle! 

So we're lined up, ready to walk, and Ty is doing his fish out of water routine...whipping his body from side to side in an attempt to get me to put him down.  Not happening.  So I started the one game I know that will always make him stop crying or whining or misbehaving...the "What does ___ say?" alphabet game.  It goes like this...Me: "What does A say?" Ty: "ah, ah", Me: "What does B say?" Ty: "buh, buh"...all the way to z.  So there we are, maid of honor and ring bearer, walking down the aisle at a gorgeous outdoor venue on the water, listening to the string quartet play their music, playing the "What does ____ say?" game.  Classy!  But you know what?  We made it without a tantrum or tears, and I'm pretty sure the photographer was able to get a good picture or two!

The rest of the story is about the adults (which I'll save for another day), because the cranky ring-bearer was sent to his room for bed shortly after the reception began!  But all in all it was a successful event, and a successful trip.  And I have to say, he was probably the cutest ring bearer I have ever seen!  Thanks, Mel and Pat for trusting our two year old with your wedding! :)

My beautiful boys!  (Please note Ty's all black and white tie, and Brady's little shirt and tie...so cute!) 
Hoping we got a better picture of the little guys on the professional camera, but they are pretty darn cute!!!

The happy couple!!!